The saga of Tormod and Muarim
by maidenmonster
Summary: EDITED.The story of Tormod and Muarim, how they met and how they lived. The gang finds Tormod, but will Tormod still be with them?
1. Prologue

Hello, dear readers. I've decided to edit chapter 1-6 because... I didn't have anything to do during the summer and I've improved a bit since I wrote the 1:st chapter. I know that the begining is just repeating what everyone alredy knows, but when I started writing this my friends wanted to read it, and then my mom, and my dad, and some other friends, and my English teacher. So that is for them, all the other readers can go to Muarim's PoV.

Oh, and I say PoV, but it's more like third-person, but a third person who can read the mind of the PoV person but no one else. Unless I messed up somewhere. This is also my first fic, please be nice.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem, why would I?

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Chapter 1: Prologue

Tellius... A continent divided in nations. Gallia, Crimea, Daein, Begnion, Goldoa, Phoenicis and

Kilvas. Tellius is also the home of laguz and beorc, demi-humans and humans. These different races has fought each other for many generations.

The beorc have a hard time accepting the laguz for all kind of reasons. Mostly because they are different from beorc.

Laguz see beorc as the weaker species because they have to rely on weapons to defend themselves. And some can't even use weapons unlike laguz that can fight from the moment they are born.

In Bengion laguz-slavery was legal until year 624 when the apostle forbid any kind of slavery among laguz. This, however, did not stop the nobles from having laguz as slaves in their homes. Most slaves are born so. This is the story of one of them...

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Muarim's PoV

Hello, My name is Muarim. I'm a slave, and a laguz. A tiger to be correct. I'm about seventeen to nineteen years old. Maybe nineteen, I'm not so sure. The only ones that knew and cared were my parents and they died a long time ago. They opposed our master and their punishment was... Well, I give you three guesses. That is why I never question my master. I have a sister however, they beat her all the time because she won't shut up. She's not like me. If she gets an idea on her head she blurts it out without thinking. Then they beat her and I have to clean up the blood. Me however... I think in silence. And that's why I came up with a plan. Tonight, I'm going to flee. I'm going to be free...

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This is ten years pre-game, so you might think that someone is OOC, but I will try to get them more mature as the story goes on. Don't yell at me for grammar/spelling mistakes. I'm swedish and I'm learning.

Please read on, and review if you want to.


	2. Freedom and misfortune

Here you go, I hope you'll like it.

Disclaimer: If I owned Fire Emblem the game would be as insane as me, so it's a good thing that I don't own it.

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Chapter 2: Freedom and misfortune

Normal PoV

Begnion was a beautiful nation. At least the rich towns and cities. The slums and least important towns was a another story. The roads where covered in filth and thieves where lurking behind every corner making the life there even worse for the poor and homeless.

A young homeless boy was walking around the streets. His young age made it almost impossible to survive on the streets alone but due to luck and some talent he had survived for one and a half year on his own. But even the deepest well of luck will dry out if it is overused it and now things where just going downhill for the young boy.

Some other kids where playing down the street. As much as the boy wanted to join them and have fun he decided to go the other way. A confrontation with them would only lead into trouble...

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Muarim's PoV

A new face was seen in the slums of Begnion. Or, it would if the owner showed his face. He was, after all, a laguz on the run. After a few minutes of sneaking around his masters house, avoiding guards and such on the way, he had managed to snatch some food and gotten out of there. At first, he had been overwhelmed with joy over his great escape but then he started to fear for what would happen next. Well, at least he was free...

_" THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"_ Muarim screamed in his mind. He had been free for maybe twelve to fourteen hours and the first disaster came.

A thief had stolen his only food. Just because he didn't pay attention. The smell of the thief, however, where still noticeable for Muarim's sensitive nose on his arm where the thief had bumped into him in order to reach his small bag of food. Muarim leaned against a wall and groaned. Why him of all people?

He sat down, still leaning against the wall and looked at the night sky. The stars where shining more brightly than ever making the sky incredibly beautiful.

" At least it is beautiful... To bad I couldn't bring my sister... That would have been to dangerous I guess..." He curled up in fetes position in order to keep himself a bit warm and soon drifted of to sleep.

Three days later...

_'I'm hungry..'_ Muarim hadn't eaten in three days now. A laguz could however survive for a longer period without food unlike the weaker humans. Muarim had now explored most of the town and knew quite a lot about where you could sleep and such. But he didn't know the name of the town. A noise from a alley made Muarim curios. It sounded like a fight of some sort. He decided to check what it was, it could be the thief whom he still was keeping an eye out for.

He quickly saw that it wasn't the thief but some kids gathered around a smaller child. He quickly turned and walked away. It wasn't his business after all. And he HAD been raised not to bother about others affairs.

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Tormod's PoV

" As we said, our friend is wounded, we're pissed and no one cares about you, so..." The eldest boy smirked. The others around him just smiled and tried to look intimidating. It worked. He really was scared. They had surrounded him and he didn't have much of a chance to flee. And they where big kids, almost early teens, and he was just a small child. Plus, this is how it worked in this town. If you couldn't punish the one that where guilty you blamed it on someone else. But he didn't want to be that 'someone' today. Or any other day. So he did the only thing he could.

" D-don't get closer or I'll burn you!" He screamed and preformed a easy magic trick that did create a small flame that startled the others enough for him to escape. He knew the town back and fourth and could easily flee by taking a few shortcuts that confused the others. After a while he found a few crates that worked great as a hiding place and when the bullies caught up with him the ran right past him. He let out a sigh. Since he was much younger than them he couldn't run as quick so it was a good thing to know where to go in order to flee. He thought about looking for food but when it started to rain he decided to stay and maybe get some sleep first.

Muarim's PoV

" Achoo!" Muarim sneezed loudly and his nose started dripping. He really hated the rain. Not only was it to wet for him but it also made his scent grow weaker. " Sigh Well, this sucks..."

He sneezed again and decided to seek shelter somewhere. He spotted a few crates with would be a good place to hide from the rain when he, despite the rain, felt a familiar smell. He forgot all about the rain and started tracking the scent. He only had one thought on his mind:_' THIEF!'_

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The thief' s PoV

_' Hah! Life sure is good.' _Fred, a quite skilled thief, thought. _' And they say sub-humans are dangerous. The one I met the other day didn't even react when I took his food. Not that it was worth it. He didn't have much food at all. Heck, that kid I robbed earlier had more food than him'_

He chuckled a bit and praised himself for his theft. But he didn't notice the fist the angry laguz threw at him from behind.

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Muarim's PoV

Muarim's anger made his brute force even stronger as he punched the thief. He was tired, hungry and wet and he wouldn't be hungry at least if it weren't for the thief.

" Argh! He-hey what...! Y-you!" The thief screamed and then flinched when he saw who it was who punched him. Then logic hit him when he realised that he didn't stand a chance against a angry sub-human.

" Ahh! Wait! This is about your food isn't it? Right? Here! I ate yours but this is fresh! Look, it's even more than what I took from you! Take it!"

He almost screamed as he picked up a small bag from his backpack.

" Now, l-leave me alone!" With that, the thief turned his coat and fled, screaming. Muarim just stood there with his new food. Then he took out a big piece of bread.

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I know that it's a bit out-of-character for Muarim to say that something sucks, but this is ten years pre-game, bear with me.

Please review, I'd be very happy if you do.


	3. Food and friendship

Here we are, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I'd like to say that I own it, but I don't.

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Chapter 3: Food and friendship

Tormod's PoV

_What just happened? The thief just left. Without getting back at that... What is he anyway? Why does he got a tail? And strange ears...?´_ He was amazed at the very least. That someone would fight for his own good like that in this town was rare. And against a thief as well. They where dangerous for everyone else.

But not for that man, it seemed to be. The boy took a few steps forward, forgetting all about that it could be dangerous. The half-beast looked interesting, and curiosity got the better of him.

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Muarim's PoV

Muarim was just about to take a big bite of his bread when he noticed a small sound behind him. He turned his head to see who it was. A little boy, a little more than an infant, maybe four years old, where standing a few feet away from him. He was very skinny, quite small and had dark crimson hair and the same kind of eyes. His clothes, if you could call it that, was basically a sack with holes for head and arms.

He looked miserable. Compared to the boy Muarim looked good, even with his torn, dirty clothes. A feeling overwhelmed him. Something he rarely felt before. Compassion. When the child noticed that Muarim looked at him he looked down at his feet, that where entangled in leather to serve as shoes.

" Eh. Sorry, I just..." He trailed off.

'_Hmm. Shy little kid...´_ Muarim thought. A new feeling came by him. Guilt, or something like that. A homeless boy, a beorc that can't survive without help, and Muarim himself was a laguz with a big piece of bread. He didn't have to think twice. The decision was already made.

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Tormod´s PoV

" Here..." The weird human stretched out his hand offering quite a bit of his bread to him. He was just about to accept the offer when he remembered something.

" I-I-I've been told not to take food from strangers..." His mother told him that a long time ago. Even now, after she died, he always remembered to do what she said.

" Are you sure kid? You look hungry." He nodded quickly.

" N-no! I-I'm not hungr..." then his stomach rumbled. He blushed and looked down.

" What's your name, boy?" He looked up again. The man still offered the piece of bread.

" M-my na-name is..." He trailed off again. He wasn't used to having a conversation with anyone and was quite unsure of how to react when someone spoke to him.

" Yes..?" The man asked, as if to help him answer.

"T- Tormod. M-my name is Tormod..." He looked at his feet again.

" My name is Muarim." Tormod looked up again, straight into Muarims eyes.

"Now we know each other. We're not strangers anymore (A/N Forest Gump, anyone?). Now take the bread before you starve."

Tormod didn't know what to say. He took a few steps closer and took the now damp bread (A/N: it's raining, remember? Muarim did his best to keep it dry and now it's damp). With tears of happiness threatening to roll down his cheeks he gratefully took a bite.

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Muarim´s PoV

Muarim couldn't help but to smile when he saw how happy the boy became when he ate. He took a bite of his own bread and looked around a bit. " It's getting dark. You should go home to your mom of dad of whoever takes care of you now. It could be dangerous out here if you are alone." Muarim looked at Tormod and noticed that the boy had stopped in his movements.

" H-hey, did I say anything wrong?" Muarim asked. A few moments of silence followed before Tormod spoke up.

" I'm all alone. Mama and papa are dead and no one cares about me…"

Muarim was shocked by this. Why wouldn't anyone care about a child? Are beorc this cruel toward their own offspring? He was about to apologise, polite as he is, when Tormod spoke up again.

" It doesn't matter, I've been alone for... I think it is one and a half year or something like that..." A moment of silence...

" How old are you, little one?" Muarim asked.

" I think I am three and a half years old now..."

" That's really young for a homeless boy..."

" Yeah..." Silence...

Muarim was about to take a new bite of his bread when he noticed that Tormod was staring at him curiously. "What is it little one?" Tormod blushed when he thought the he had been rude.

" Um, well... I-I got a name you know!" Tormod said, trying to change the subject.

" Yeah yeah, but that wasn't why you where looking at me like that, was it?" Muarim said while raising an eyebrow. Tormod looked down for a while before asking what he had been wondering for a while.

" Muaim, why do you have cat ears and a tail?" The eyebrow that had been going back to its original position flew back up again.

" You don't know what a laguz is?" He asked only to receive a blank stare.

" Huh? Lagwhat?" Tormod asked, curiosity still shining through his eyes. Muarim sighted.

" A laguz is a demi-human. A human with the ability to transform into a beast." Tormod nodded and smiled, clearly curious for more information.

" You see little one..."

" Tormod."

" Yeah. Humans, like you, are called beorc and sub-humans, like me, are called laguz. Calling a laguz sub-human is an horrible insult so never say that. The same goes for the word human´ so if a laguz calls you that, you'd better run and hide. Ok?" Tormod nodded again, still smiling.

" You seem to be smart for such a young beorc, Tormod. How come?" Muarim asked.

But then Tormods smile that he kept for so long faded.

" umm, Well. My parents... When they where alive they always said that I was a quick learner. My dad... was a Sage. I learned most of all I know from him... Like this." Tormod held out one of his hands in a fist and opened his palm and a small fire appeared. Muarim gasped.

'_Magic! I've heard it takes years to learn and this child can use it!´ _Muarim stretched out his hand towards the fire. It was pleasantly warm. Not to warm, but enough to make you feel good.

" How did you learn this?" He asked, not bothering to hide the curiosity in his voice like he had been raised to.

" My dad put me trough training almost as soon as I was born... But I only know how to use this magic so far, it's a really simple trick, and I don't think I will learn much more in my life..." He closed his hand and thus chocking the fire.

" Keeping myself alive takes up all of my time. I won't be able to train in order to get better..."

Muarim thought about this for a while before speaking up." Well, I guess it is kind of hard to survive on your own, in your age close to impossible. I'm new in the life of a homeless and need someone who can show me what to do, and you need someone to look after you, right? Do you think we should team up together? Safety in numbers, as they say."

Tormod looked at him, kind of taken aback from the offer." You...You would like that? Really?" The boy asked, nearly not believing what he heard.

" Well, you know... I do... I do need some company sometimes and... You're nice..." Muarim smiled and patted the boys head.

" Well, you know how to survive on the streets, right? And I'm a big guy that can protect you, and myself at the same time, we would have nothing to worry about." Tormod smiled ear to ear.

" Really! You're sure! Oh, thank you! Thank you Muaim!" He cried out and embraced Muarim, who couldn't help but to laugh.

" Ha ha ha! Ok, calm down. And my name is pronounced Muarimnot Muaim." Tormod laughed back at him and replied,

" And my name is Tormod, not little one." He said with a smile. Muarim smiled thinking that this would be an everlasting friendship...

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Now, don't yell at me for making Tormod speak well at such a young age. I made him a quick learner. My cousin speaks like this and he's not much older, I'm trying to stay close to logic here.

Review, if you want to make me happy.


	4. Three and a half years later

Read, and then review please.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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Chapter 4: Three and a half years later

Muarim's PoV

Three and a half years later...

" Little one? Little one! Tormod, where are you!" Muarim screamed, he didn't like markets such as the one he currently where at. To many people, smells from beorc, fruits, meat, fish, metals and much more. And a laguz in his early twenties losing a seven year old child in such a crowd is not such a great situation. Tormod was small and quite restless.

That means hard to find if you lose him out of sight. Muarim was scared that Tormod would get hurt. He had learned the difference between laguz and sub-human. Each time someone would say sub-human Tormod would go berserk. That tended to get them into trouble now and then. To avoid that Muarim now used a cloak that covered his ears and hid his tail.

" Tormod!" He yelled. Now people stared at him strangely.

'_Great, now they think I'm a maniac or something_...´ He sighted

'_Ok, calm down. Where could he be? I looked everywhere_...´ Then it hit him, he smacked himself on his forehead and smiled at his stupidity. He hadn't looked where he was most likely to find Tormod.

'W_hy didn't I think about that in the first place? Of course he is there...´_ He thought and started walking towards the magic shop.

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Tormod's PoV

Books, books, books. The shop where full of magic tomes. There where also staves, healing ointment, pure water and a few talismans.

" Fire tomes, thunder tomes, wind tomes..." Tormod's finger where sliding over each book while he was pronouncing its name.

" Elfire, Elthunder, Elwind, Light, Shine..." He stopped when he came to the light magic. They could only be used by bishops, and a mage like him could never use them. He used the power of nature, not Ashera. A few month ago Muarim had bought him a fire tome and Tormod was getting quite good with it.

A small bell plinged from the door and a customer entered the shop. Tormod gave him a quick glance out of curiosity.

A priest with white robes and short black hair. He was carrying a Fortify staff.

' _I bet he's either going to sell it or say that it doesn't work...´_ Tormod thought and returned to the tomes. Soon he heard the priest speaking to the shopkeeper.

" I can't get it to work, it works as a heal staff right?" Tormod smiled. His prediction had been correct.

" Yes sir, but this is one of the most powerful staves in existence. Can you use a recover staff?" The shopkeeper asked, followed by short silence that probably meant that the priest had answered with a nod or by shaking his head as a 'yes´ or 'no´.

" The Recover staff, as you should know, heals any wounds no matter how deep as long as the wounded isn't dead. The Fortify staff recovers multiply wounded at once. You simply need to train some more if you hope to master this stave."

Tormod smiled. One day he would be able to use a Fortify staff. Once he become a sage, that is. The bell by the door plinged again as the priest returned to the streets and Tormod continued to look at the books. When the bell plinged again curiosity got the better of him again and he took a look at the new customer. A woman with a stave in her hand and a sword at her waist.

'_A Valkyrie...´ _Tormod thought._ The only warrior that can use both magic staves and swords equally skilled...´ _He returned to the book he was holding when the bell plinged one more time. This time, however, he didn't take any notice of who it was and continued to read. Then a big hand landed on his shoulder.

" So, here you are." Tormod looked up and smiled.

" Hi Muarim. Sorry if I made you worried by running of like that." Muarim just smiled back.

" What's that?" Muarim asked, nodding towards the tome Tormod was holding in his hands.

"It's an Elfire tome. I can't use it yet but I'm not far away from mastering it..." Tormod answered. Then his gaze travelled to the bookshelves and stayed at a Bolganon, the second strongest fire magic. He barely noticed that Muarim took the Elfire away from him and asked the shopkeeper how much it coasted.

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Muarim's PoV

" Wow Muarim, you're the best!" Tormod said while jumping up and down at the same time as he was hugging Muarim. He was holding the newly purchased Elfire tome in one of his hands.

" Thank you! Thank you!" He continued. They didn't have much money and getting a magic book was a real treat. Muarim laughed at the little boy.

" Well, you love magic and I love it when you're happy. Besides, you have to train with some other magic after you mastered Fire, right?" Tormod smiled.

" Does that mean you are going to buy me a Bolganon when I'm done with Elfire?" He said with a smirk. Muarim just laughed. They where soon done with all the shopping and moved towards the desert they lived in. They didn't live on the streets anymore, after an accident concerning Muarim's heritage, they had discovered some ruins in Grann desert of Begnion that they now knew as home.

It was really sandy, hot during the day, cold during the night. The walls where crumbling and it was deep in the savage desert. But because of this they where protected from bandits, laguz-hunters and sandstorms. If Tormod would ride on Muarim's back they would be there in about half a day or so. When they returned they would go on with their own business.

Muarim would prepare food and Tormod would study his magic. Then Muarim would watch Tormod's magic until Tormod had enough. That means until Tormod would be completely drained. When that happened, Muarim would pick Tormod up and take him to their bedroom.

One time, Muarim hadn't kept an eye on Tormod and the poor child had fainted out there all alone for a long time. Then Muarim had blamed himself for a long time over what happened so he made sure of that it wouldn't happen again. Muarim put Tormod down on his cot and put a blanket around him and was just about to leave when he heard Tormod say:

" Muarim tell a good night story please..." Muarim smiled, he loved these moments.

" Ok, what do you want to hear?" He asked. Tormod smiled, eyes half closed and almost asleep.

" Tell me about when you fled from the evil beorc..." He said with a low voice and yawned. Muarim smiled even more.

" Ok. Once upon a time there was a laguz named Muarim. He was a slave and he and his sister where tortured every day by their master. One day Muarim thought that he wanted to be free and..."

" Zzzzz..." Muarim stopped talking when he noticed that Tormod already was asleep.

He leaned forward and kissed Tormod gently on his forehead, careful not to wake him up and with a smile playing at his lips.

" Good night Tormod..."

He hesitated before continuing.

"... My son."

He pulled back, still smiling.

'_This must be against some sort of laguz law, to see a beorc as a family member...´ _He kept looking at his child.

'_To bad he fell asleep so quickly. I like bragging about my escape.´ _He stroked Tormod's head before going back to his own business.

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Well, love? Hate? Whatever? Please tell.

* * *


	5. The first fight

Here's my first fighting scene, I hope it's good.

Disclaimer: They own it, not me.

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Chapter 5: The first fight

Muarim's PoV

Muarim woke up by a small sound. His first thought was that Tormod was up early, but it was still the middle of the night. And Tormod was sleeping peacefully next to him.

'_Maybe it's only my mind playing tricks on me...´_ A another sound, louder this time. Muarim gave Tormod a quick glance, the boy slept on unaware of anything that happened. Muarim got up and decided to check what was going on. He sneaked out of the room they slept in and tried to detect anything that wasn't the way it should be, besides the odd sounds in the middle of the night.

After a few moments his nose told him that there was someone there.

'_Beorc, more than one...´_ He thought. His ears twitched when he heard someone talk.

" Are you sure?" A mans voice.

" Yeah I'm sure! I saw a sub-human here earlier today and it should be hiding here somewhere." A second man.

" How many do we got now?" Third man.

" With this one, seven." Second voice.

" These half-breed should sell quite good, huh?" Fourth man.'

"Yeah!" All of them.

'_If there is only four of them then I should be able to take care of them on my own...´ _Muarim thought.

" Did you see anything else than the half-breed?" First voice.

" Umm... Yeah, a human. A child."

'_Tormod!´_

" A child eh? Do you think the sub-human kidnapped him, or her, what was it? Boy or girl?"

" I think it was a boy. Do you think the monster is going to eat him?" " I don't see that as an impossibility. You never know what those monsters might do. If we find the boy, do you think we can recruit him?"

" Yeah! He can help us and get his revenge at the sub-human!"

'_They really think that I would hurt the little one... Fools. But if they find him he could get hurt. I can't allow that! If Tormod gets hurt because I didn't protect him I'd never forgive myself!´_ Muarim thought and started to transform. His muscles shifted place and his whole body changed completely until his transformation was at its end. He hid behind a wall and peeked at the humans that had interrupted his sleep.

Two Myrmidons, a Fighter and a Knight. The fact that a knight was there at all confused him since heavy beings and horses had an awful lot of trouble in the desert because they couldn't walk in the sand. But he didn't have time to worry about that. He made a dash for one of the Myrmidons and hit him in the neck as hard as he could before the others could react. The swordfighter fell to the ground, dead, with a broken neck, and his friends gasped at the sight of the oversized tiger.

" There it is!"

" It killed Rodney!"

" Die you monster!"

" No! Don't kill it! We have to catch it!"

" But it killed Rodney! An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!"

" And a half-breed for a shitload of gold! Catch it!" After their little discussion, the three remaining fighters readied their weapons, that Muarim now noticed was anti-laguz weapons. He could only rely on his agility in order to attack and then avoid their attacks. The Myrmidon and the Fighter charged at him, but the Knight stood still.

Muarim leaped forward, giving the fighter a quite serious wound when he passed by. The Myrmidon tried to spin around and slay Muarim, who jumped out of the way and therefore leaving the Fighter in the Myrmidons range, and the Myrmidon accidentally cut his companion instead of Muarim.

" Noo! Sorry! I-I didn't mean to..! Don't die!" The Myrmidon screamed when he realised what he had done. " Kim... You... Urghh... T-traditor... Augahhh..." The Fighter said before dying.

" Noo! I said don't die! Ohh, you never listened to me!" The Myrmidon sobbed. Muarim just gave them both a blank stare.

'_Are they really this inexperienced?´_ The Myrmidon stopped sobbing and stared at Muarim, anger blazing in his eyes.

" You... It's your fault! You killed him! Die you fiend!" Muarim tried to protest but in his current shape he could not talk with the beorc tongue so it came out as a roar. When the Myrmidon dashed towards him he turned around and was just about to leap out of the way when he felt a sharp pain above his hind leg. He roared and looked back to see the Myrmidon burying almost half of his sword in Muarim's hip.

He pulled it out and was about to attack Muarim again but Muarim was quicker. He used his front legs to pounce on the swordfighter, knocking him down on the ground with his paws. Then he put one of his paws on the Myrmidons shoulders and the other on his swords arm to hold him down and making him unable to defend himself.

" G-gah! N-no! Wha-what are you..." Muarim was letting his face get closer to his enemy's throat and let out a growl that meant:

" I'm sorry, but if I don't do this you'll hurt the only family I've got..."

Then he quickly bit the Myrmidons throat to kill him of, almost ripping it off. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, telling him that he was successful. He backed off and looked around. The Knight was still there and he had barely moved during the whole battle.

'_That's strange...´_ Muarim thought before he closed the distance between him and his laguz-lance wielding enemy, thinking that he had to end this quickly as he was getting dizzy from blood loss. He leaped forward and, despite the injury he had, managed to land a quite powerful blow that made the Knight step back. But the Knight only suffered a few deep scratches on his armour.

Then Muarim saw something he didn't notice before, a blue necklace where hanging by the Knights neck.

'_A laguzguard! Oh no! Then my attacks are almost useless!´_ Before Muarim could react the Knight attacked with a well aimed lance thrust, and with surprising speed for a heavy armoured fighter, and hit Muarim at the right side of his ribs. Muarim screamed, or roared, higher than any other time only to regret it immediately.

Tormod could wake up. He panicked, first at the thought of Tormod coming there and get hurt, and then at the feeling of shifting muscles.

He had used up all of his energy and was starting to transform back to normal! That must have been why the Knight hadn't joined the fight in the first place. He was waiting for the right moment! Muarim could almost see how the Knight smirked behind his helmet.

" Y´know, we where going to let you live. But I changed my mind the moment you had killed all of my friends. Die." The Knight said and raised his lance. Muarim closed his eyes and prepared himself for the final blow.

" FIRE!" A fire orb crashed into the Knight's back. The orb shattered and every piece searched for a opening in the Knights armour that also where warming up rapidly. Soon the Knight screamed in pain and turned around with anger written all over his face (not that anyone saw that, his face where covered by his helm).

" What are you doing you little brat!" Tormod was standing there, one Fire tome in his hand and a another at his waist in a little pocket attached to his belt, already looking for the next spell.

" You where going to hurt Muarim! I won't allow it! I won't! Fire!" He released a another spell that hit the Knight right in the chest and the magic searched its way into the unguarded flesh. The Knight screamed again.

" Why you little...! Take this!" He charged at Tormod that avoided the attack without much trouble.

" Fire!" A another spell burned the Knight. Muarim thought that Tormod was doing good since magic where strong against warriors like knights and others with low resistance. But since Tormod where training so much his tomes wore out quicker than usual. His thoughts where interrupted by a scream. Tormod's scream.

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Lame cliffhanger. I know.

Tell me your thoughts.


	6. Future friends or foes?

Weeee. The last edit chapter. I hope you'll enjoy this and the rest of the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own it, if I did then the story would be really wierd.

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Chapter 6: Future friends or foes?

Muarim's PoV

" Gaah! N-nng!" Each of Tormod's groans made Muarim's heart twist in terror. The lance had hit his left leg, witch was now bleeding badly.

" Heh. Not so brave now, are you kid?" The Knight said mockingly before pulling back his lance and prepared for a another attack. Tormod took this opportunity to get out of the knight's range but Muarim knew that with that wound Tormod wouldn't be able to hold out for so long.

Tormod tried to release an another spell but when he started chanting the book suddenly got caught on fire. That was what happened to magic books that had been overused. Muarim gasped when it happened. The Knight laughed.

" Hah! Never use the same weapon you are using for training in a battle, take that knowledge with you to the afterlife!" He screamed and prepared himself to attack. Tormod managed to avoid the attack just in time and picked up the other tome he had with him, raised his arm and started chanting. The Knight dashed towards Tormod who didn't make any attempt to avoid the hit but continued chanting. Muarim felt the panic rise up inside him. If Tormod didn't avoid the attack he would die or get mortally wounded! The Knight was closing in but Tormod still chanted the spell.

'_Does it take that long to chant a Fire spell?´_ Muarim thought. Then Tormod pointed his arm towards the Knight and smirked.

" Elfire!" The spell hit the Knight in the chest, flames appearing around him, scorching every inch of his body.

A scream. A thud. A dead knight.

Only four feet away from Tormod. Muarim sighted out of relief.

" Muarim!" Tormod came running, or he tried to but his injury made that kind of hard to do, towards Muarim who sat down leaning against a wall, dizzy from the loss of blood. He grunted loudly when Tormod sat down on his knee and hugged him tightly.

" Muarim! Muarim! I thought I was to late! I-I... Whaaa!" Muarim hugged him back and patted his head.

" There, there... And besides, I thought you would die to, little one. Then I would be all... Alone..." Somehow that was hard for him to say. They had lived together for so long, he could not imagine himself a life without Tormod.

They where a family.

They where inseparateable. He hugged Tormod even harder, as if he would lose him if he didn't, he failed to choke a sob when he thought about how close he was to losing him. His left shoulder, which Tormod was leaning his head on, was getting wet from the little beorc's tears.

" M-Muarim. D-don't ever fight without me again. P-promise me th-that..." Muarim pondered this for a while before replying.

" Little one, if you get killed out on the battlefield, I will never forgive myself." He said stroking Tormod's head softly.

" And I'll never forgive myself if I can't protect you! Why do you think I'm studying magic!" Tormod replied and continued sobbing.

" I-I don't want you to die! You are the only family that is left for me! My own parents died! It was my fault! I don't want to lose you in that way!" Tormod was now hugging Muarim o close that Muarim had trouble breathing.

" Li-little one! Not so tight!" Tormod loosed his grip but didn't say anything, only his cries and sobbing broke the silence.

' _Wait, what did he say? My own parents died. It was my fault´? He never told me the last part.´_ Muarim thought as he continued to pat Tormod's head that he had been doing the last minutes.

" It's okay now, we're safe. Don't cry." Tormod stifled a sob and asked,

" Muarim, what did those men want from you?" Muarim thought he knew pretty well what they wanted.

" I think they wanted to catch me and sell me as a slave." He said calmly. Tormod's reaction was far from calm.

" That's horrible! They would destroy our life!" He screamed loudly making Muarim's sensitive ears suffering.

" Calm down, I lived as a slave, I escaped. I could do that again, you know that." Tormod sniffed and looked Muarim straight in the eye with tears rolling down his cheeks. Then he hugged him again and they sat like that for a while. Then Muarim thought of something.

" Wait a minute, they said that with me they would have seven laguz. You don't think they..." Then it hit him.

"... A heavy unit such as a knight can't walk in the desert. But laguz are hardly affected by the sand..." He picked Tormod up in his arms and stood up, flinching at the pain that struck him.

" I have to go and look outside, stay here." He said, putting Tormod down on the ground but Tormod wouldn't let go of his arm.

" First of all: You're wounded, you should sit still. Second of all: there might be more of them outside. I won't let you go by yourself. I won't leave your side unless I want to!" Tormod said, still holding on to Muarim's arm. Muarim looked at Tormod with a I-won't-let-you-go-you-could-get-hurt stare.

Tormod pouted and tried to convince Muarim to let him come.

" Muarim, you are like a father to me. And it's part of being a child to disobey your dad's order!"

Muarim couldn't help but to smile at Tormod's argument, even if it was silly and desperate, and gave in.

" Okay, but stay close to me all right?" He said and Tormod finally let go of his arm.

" Okay. I'll watch your back." Muarim smiled at his friend and started walking but stopped when Tormod didn't show up next to him.

" Little one? Are you okay?" He asked the boy who was limping along behind him.

" I-I'm okay it's just... M-my leg hurts.." He said gesturing towards his leg that where half covered in blood.

" I'm-I'm okay thought. I'm coming!" He said hurrying up next to Muarim.

" We should get these wounds fixed up soon. I'm sure those thugs have some medicine..." Muarim said looking at both of their wounds before they walked outside.

Muarim gasped. Tormod's eyes widened and he tugged in Muarim's tail.

" Muarim, those are laguz, right?" Muarim nodded.

In front of them was a carriage that where designed for trips in the snowy mountains that made it easier to travel in sand as well and tied to that carriage was four beast laguz and two bird laguz. They all looked like hell. They had bruises after being punched and shallow wounds that where meant to cause pain and not death. They where thin and looked like they hadn't eaten in days.

Muarim studied them for a while. Two cats, two tigers, one hawk and one crow. The crow had long hair down to his, or hers Muarim didn't see that, shoulder blades. Since he/she was sitting down it was hard to judge how tall he/she was and the black clothes hid his/hers body shape.

The hawk had blonde hair down to her, this time Muarim saw that it was a girl, shoulders and she had basic green clothes, nothing special.

One of the cats, a girl too, had light brown hair, longer than the hawk but shorter than the crow, and torn clothes. They, too, where nothing special. Just green trousers and a brown tunic. Her yellow eyes where shining in the light of the moon, a common thing for beast laguz.

The other cat, a man, looked so fragile so that Muarim didn't understand why someone would see him as a potential slave. He had short orange hair and green eyes, they too where shining, and just plain brown clothes.

The tigers, both men, had similar body shape, broad shoulders, big arms and so on. One of them had short dark brown hair and almost the same eyes, a similar attire to Muarim, white tunic and brown trousers.

The other tiger was unique. He was a albino which made him quite a sight. He had black clothes with a good contrast to his pale skin.

" Come, little one. We must help them." Muarim said which made all the other laguz notice them.

" Who are you?"

" You're covered in blood!"

" What happened?"

" Did you fight the humans!"

The prisoners talked at the same time making it hard for Muarim to answer any of their questions. Muarim untied the birds and Tormod tried to help but the knot was to tight and hard to undo.

" Hey, beast brother!" The crow said, who Muarim now noticed that it was a man.

" I'm Jerme, who are you?" He said quite politely and Muarim answered in the same manners.

" I'm Muarim, and this is Tormod." He said putting a hand on Tormod's shoulder, the boy was still struggling with the knot.

" Huh. What kind of laguz is he? I see no tail or ears nor any wings. Is he a dragon perhaps?" Jerme asked. Muarim was about to tell him that Tormod was no laguz when the others started saying things at the same time. Tormod had tried to burn the rope with his candle magic he had showed Muarim the first time they met and thus making everyone shocked. Muarim could only make out a few things they said.

" Magic!"

" He's no laguz!"

" Stay away from me, human!" Tormod took a few steps back at the word 'human´ and looked at his feet. Muarim thought that it was a good idea because then he didn't see how the laguz´ faces where twisted in disgust, everyone except the orange haired cat looked disgusted.

He understood them but Tormod didn't deserve it.

" Hey, stop it, he's just trying to help you out. Don't blame him for what species he is."

That only caused the laguz group to look at him with a are-you-crazy-he's-a-human stare, again the fragile looking cat remained neutral.

" I'm s-sorry..." Tormod was so quiet so Muarim was unsure if the birds could hear him without superior hearing.

" I didn't mean to offend you or something. I just wanted to help... Sorry..." He tried to make himself look small but that was hard when everyone was looking at him.

Muarim noticed that Tormod was about to cry. He understood why. First, he almost lost his only family member a while ago. Then he killed someone, that isn't something you do everyday when you are seven years old. And he's badly wounded, a child starts to cry from a lot less. And now he's being blamed for his race.

' _That's unfair. Then again, so is laguz slavery. These laguz don't hate beorc for nothing.´_ He was about to comfort the little beorc when Tormod said,

" I-I should go... I don't... I should go..." With that he limped back inside the ruins. Muarim was about to follow when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

" Why is that human here? And why is he hurt? You, I can understand because of the slave sellers, but him? And how did you defeat the knight. He had a laguzguard, right?" The albino laguz said, looking like a big question mark.

" Tormod is bleeding badly because of that he fought one of the beorc, the knight with the laguzguard that I could barely scratch, he risked his life! And he saved mine! Don't you dare treating him like crap again!" Muarim said with anger in his voice. He was about to follow Tormod when he thought of something.

" These ruins... If you are able to live next to a beorc without hurting him with either words or physically you are welcome to stay. The desert are protecting us and if you treat him nicely I'm sure Tormod wouldn't mind..."With that Muarim went inside to look for Tormod leaving a group of quite surprised laguz behind.

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There. I wish to thank all of my reviewers who tried to help me with my English and everything else. A big THANK YOU to all of you and to Flarebreeze who became my BETA. I will now continue writing the chapters and I hope you will like them.

Please review.


	7. Don´t worry

Okay, here I am. And thanks to all of my reviewers! Really great of all of you to point those things out!

And I just have to say this: Thank you Flarebreeze! You know what to take credit for.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. And thank god for that. You do not want to know what could happen if I did.

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Tormod´s PoV 

Tormod stood next to the knight's dead body. He was quite upset for the fact that he had only tried to help and was being treated like dirt. Furiously, he kicked the dead knight's body.

"OW!" Tormod screamed as pain sprung up from his toes. Grabbing hold of the aching foot, he started hopping on one foot.

"Tormod?" Muarim´s voice shattered the silence. The small beorc swallowed, he didn't want Muarim to see him like this.

" Muarim…was it me that did anything wrong?" Tormod asked his voice gone soft.

Pushing the door open, Muarim walked slowly placing Tormod's lithe body on the bed. The room was dark with only a candle illuminating the two faces.

Sighing, Muarim wrapped his arms around Tormod and placed him on the bed. " No Tormod, it wasn't you. The fault lies on the laguz for that. You just tried to help them and they were rude enough to disrespect you because of your lack of wings or tail. That´s all." Muarim answered as he slowly rocked Tormod back and forth.

" Muarim?"

" Yes little one?"

"...You wouldn't choose them over me, would you?" Tormod inquired,

" Tormod!" Muarim shouted furiously, " How could you even think like that! I just recently met them! And besides that, they insulted you! Also, you're my..." Muarim trailed off slowly. Tormod´s eyes were fixed on the laguz waiting for the rest of the sentence.

" Your what?" Tormod said after a while, his voice quiet.

"... My best friend." Muarim replied softly as he shifted his arms around the small boy so that Tormod´s head were resting on his shoulder. Tormod smiled feeling satisfied with the answer.

"You're my best friend too." He said.

Muarim smiled, " Good night Tormod." He said placing a light kiss on Tormod´s forehead.

Smiling softly, the boy drifted off into a well needed sleep.

* * *

Muarim´s PoV 

" Is the beorc asleep?" An unfamiliar voice asked making Muarim turn around to see who it was. It was one of the laguz, the fragile looking male cat. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were slightly torn. Muarim gazed intently at him before answering his question.

" Yes, I think his blood loss may have made him fall asleep quicker than usual. Now if you excuse me, I have to take care of his wounds and my own." Muarim replied sharply.

Raising his eyebrow, the Cat swept through the door, " Do you know anything about how to stop the blood flow and applying pressure to the wound?" The cat asked with a blank look on his face.

" I know enough about it anyways. Why do you ask?" Muarim replied as he took out a bandage roll and vulnerary from a small bag.

The cat shifted awkwardly, not taking his eyes of off Muarim, " Well, you seem to be quite experienced. Either that or you must be really self confident. Do you even know how to prevent infections?" The cat asked with a hint of humor.

" Why do I get the feeling that you think that I'm doing this the wrong way?" Muarim retorted angrily looking at the cat with an accusing glare.

" You're not doing it the wrong way, but you do nothing to help prevent further injuries or sicknesses. Allow me to explain, my name is Leo and I'm a doctor. I think you should let me handle this." Leo said.

Muarim thought about it for a while before moving away so that Leo could sit down. Immediately, he started inspecting the wound from the prior battle. Rubbing some of the healing salve onto the wound, Leo started wrapping the bandages.

" How did a laguz like you get captured? Not to be offensive or anything, but your not exactly slave material." Muarim asked, finally getting the question out of his head.

Leo did not respond for a second before looking up at Muarim. " I was more recruited than captured you see. I suffer from a weak skeleton and I can break a leg when I do things such as fighting much more easily than others. It was obvious that I would die if I tried to fight them. You know…they weren't planning on selling me or anything. I treated their wounds and made sure that they received the proper nutrients. I felt like some sort of mother to them."

Muarim nodded as Leo finished wrapping the wound.

" All done, he should be fine now. Just make sure he receives plenty or rest and he should be fit in a day or two." Leo said as he patted Tormod´s leg lightly content with his work.

Motioning for Muarim to sit down, Leo grabbed another bandage roll." Now let's take a look at you my friend."

" How come you don't seem to be disgusted by Tormod while the others are?" Muarim asked, nodding towards Tormod who was sleeping like an angel.

" Simple. I can't hate someone I don't know and I most certainly don't know Tormod. As a doctor, it is a rule that I treat anyone injured or sick, be it friend or foe. Now stop moving! This will only take a second…" Leo said as he scolded the Tiger for moving.

Muarim winced as Leo finished wrapping the bandage, "There, you're all done. Just take it easy and don't do anything far too stressful." Leo said as he stood up and walked away leaving Muarim behind.

Muarim waited for the door to close before walking over to Tormod. "Leo eh? Thank you…" He whispered silently giving before giving Tormod one last kiss on the forehead.

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Tormod´s PoV 

Tormod hoped that today would be better than last night. He was scared that the laguz would treat him horribly again, but Muarim was happy and because of that, Tormod decided to be happy as well. He didn't show any signs of sadness despite the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He had been studying his Elfire tome for a while, but the fact that everyone else seemed so exited about something made him curious.

" Muarim, why is everyone gathering around the well? It's all dried out, isn't it?" Tormod asked after his curiosity becoming too much for him to bear. Muarim smiled as he ran his hand through the beorc's hair.

" Jerme the Crow flew down into well and he discovered a chasm inside. That´s why we needed that lantern earlier."

" A cave? In the well?" Tormod asked not believing a single word. Muarim nodded and was about to say something but then he was interrupted.

" It's even bigger than we thought." Jerme crawled up from the well, his wings giving him some trouble since they were so large. " It's fantastic. Y'know we could live down there and I'd bet that we'd be protected from anything!" Jerme smiled and put down the lantern he'd been using and looked at the others.

Everyone thought about it and agreed on that it was worth a shot anyway. The whole group walked away to discuss this matter, but Tormod stayed where he was. When everyone had gone, he walked up to the well and took out his Elfire tome. Conjuring a spell, he sent a flame down, watching the trail of light left behind.

" It sure is big down there." He said loudly to himself as the fire hit the floor and extinguished itself.

" It is, isn't it?" The voice had startled young Tormod who turned around and faced Jerme. The Crow had a slight smirk on his face. " Did it take you that long to realize it? Man…beorc are stupid." Jerme uttered the last part very quietly, but Tormod still heard him.

" H-hey! I'm not stupid! W-wait. You said beorc not human." Tormod smiled thinking that he could get accepted when Jerme leaned forward until their faces where just a couple of inches away from each other.

Eyes looked with each other, Jerme scowled. " That tiger Muarim would kill me if he heard me say human. I wouldn't like that , but get this brat. You don't belong here. You're no laguz. You're a beorc and you don't belong here." Jerme spoke in a way that told Tormod that the crow lacked any respect for the little boy and that he thought that Tormod didn't mean anything to the world.

That Tormod was just a nuisance.

That he was just a...Human…

" Do me a favor, will ya?" Jerme´s blunt and cold voice told Tormod that he was going to be in trouble or at least would be.

" Get out of here. Go to the ones you belong with. Just leave. No one except Muarim likes you. Got it?" All of his words were poisonous and he knew it. He wanted to make Tormod sad and he was doing a good job too.

" J-Jerme..." Tormod said as he tried to keep his voice steady, but that was hard for the boy and his bottom lip started to quiver.

"... Get. Out. Of . My. Face." Tormod tried to say that with the coldest voice he had, " You're starting to annoy me. So go before I incinerate your face." Tormod looked Jerme straight in the eye and tried to look threatening but the crow only laughed.

" Ha! At least you tried to sound threatening, but you know what? It ain't working kid. Now you best get the heck out of my face before I'll--"

" Jerme? What are you doing?" Tormod couldn't help but grin as a deep voice sounded through the air. Behind Jerme stood his savior, Muarim and he looked angry. Jerme did not respond as he patted Tormod´s head and took off into the sky. 'Damn suck up...´ Tormod thought angrily. He didn't say anything out loud though.

" Tormod? He didn't do or say anything did he?" Muarim asked kneeling forward until he was at Tormod´s eye level. Not at all like Jerme did. Muarim kept his distance and sat in a way that said: 'I-care-about-you-but-you-are-to-short'. Jerme, on the other hand had almost brushed his forehead and nose against Tormod´s and he had been bent in a way that said: 'I-have-to-bend-when-I-talk-to-you-because-you-are-short-and-therefore-less-important'.

" He didn't do anything but..." Tormod didn't know what to say. _'How would Muarim react? Will he talk to Jerme? Will he listen or ignore me? Go berserk?'_ The boy pondered.

" It's clear that he doesn't' t like beorc." Tormod said after a while. Muarim only nodded.

" Well…I heard that he used to have a son. Probably the same age as you. He was killed by the slave capturers that kidnapped Jerme in the first place." Tormod looked up at Muarim´s face, he had been staring at his feet for quite some time.

" Really? Is it true?" Tormod asked. He suddenly felt some sort of compassion for the crow. Muarim nodded again.

" You'll have to understand that it will take some time for everyone to get used to you. Don't worry. In a few days or so I'm sure you'll make some friends among them." Muarim said smiling softly. Tormod smiled back and he assured Muarim that everything would be fine.

" Don't worry! I'll make sure that everyone is happy!" Tormod shouted, still grinning as he turned around and started walking towards his bedroom. _'Don't you worry. Everyone's going to be happy.´_ He thought as his smile faded.

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Well, was that good enough? I hope it was. Tell me what you think and what I could do better please. And don´t hesitate to ask if you wonder anything. I´ll try to make everything clear for you. 

Hmm. Not much to say this time.

Maidenmonster

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	8. He is my son

Hello allihopa everybody!

Disclaimer: Do you want me to own Fire Emblem? I don't think so.

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Muarim´s PoV 

The next day came too quickly and Muarim woke up later than usual.

"Little one? Why didn't you wake me up?" The tiger said as he gazed around. The sunlight filtered through the window and illuminated the rooms, but Tormod was no where to be found.

_That's strange. He always wake me up or wait for me to wake up on my own.´_ Muarim thought as he got out of bed.

_Now, let's see. How far did we get yesterday? Oh, right. We started digging a tunnel to the cave... Maybe I should help them before breakfast...´_ (A/N Never do that. Work before breakfast, I mean. A classmate of mine fainted when she did that.)Muarim pondered as he headed outside, eyes still gazing around for the young mage.

He walked out from the bedroom and walked towards the tunnel which was more of a hole in the ground at the moment. When the other laguz saw him they started smiling and waving towards him. He smiled in return.

"Let's see if I gotten the names right. Leo, the male cat and doctor. Jerme, the crow. Eyaya, the hawk. Mariska, the female cat; Mark, the brunette tiger; and Alex, the albino tiger. That's all of them…But...where's Tormod?"

When Muarim asked if he could help out with something the other laguz just told him to get some food before working. (A/N At least they know that it's important to eat.) After breakfast (which wasn't much considering that they bought food for two people that should last for about a week and now they had to split that into enough for eight people and it was going to last for a while) Muarim started to get worried. He had still not seen Tormod anywhere. He sometimes thought that he felt Tormod´s scent, but it was too weak to be less than a few hours old. After a while he decided to ask someone.

"Mariska, have you seen Tormod? I've looked for him all morning and I can't find him anywhere…" Muarim said.

Mariska gazed intently at the worried tiger before responding.

"No, not today. Has he been missing all day?" She asked as she tilted her head a bit.

"Yes, I haven't seen him at all." Muarim said, frowning as his worry grew and grew.

"... Well, did you hear something last night? I'm a light sleeper and I woke up because someone made some noise last night. Someone tripped or something like that." Mariska said only serving to greater the tiger's woe. That didn't put Muarim´s mind at ease.  
_  
What if he's hurt? Maybe someone came for him and--´ _Muarim panicked.

Thinking of what Tormod could possibly have done in the middle of the night he nodded towards Mariska as a 'thank you' and decided to search the ruins one more time. When he came to the bedroom he noticed something that his sleep drunken brain didn't pay attention to before. Tormod´s blanket and his tomes were missing! Muarim´s eyes widened as he put two and two together and hurried towards the entrance of the ruins. When he got there he started to search for footprints and tried to track any of Tormod's scent. He was just about to scream for the boy when someone interrupted him.

"You're looking for him, aren't you?" A playful voiced inquired. Turning around, he faced the black-winged bird Jerme.

"Jerme! Have you seen Tormod! I can't find him anywhere! I think he might be gone!" Muarim shouted anxiety in his voice. Jerme took a few steps back from the far-to-loud-at-the-moment laguz.

"Hey hey, take it easy! Otherwise you'll kill my eardrums." Jerme said while putting one finger in each ear. Muarim took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. When Jerme removed his fingers from his ears Muarim continued. In a much lower tone.

"Well, have you seen Tormod?" Muarim asked again. Jerme gave him a blank stare.

"He left."

Muarim was silent for a while. He wouldn't, no COULDN'T believe what he had just heard.

"...What did you say?" Muarim asked unsure if he wanted to hear the answer again. Jerme just shrugged.

"He's gone. He didn't belong here so it's for the best anyways."

Jerme smirked a bit, but the smirk quickly faded when he saw Muarim´s face.

"You knew! And you didn't tell me! Didn't you stop him! And what do you means with that he 'didn't belong here'! Without him I wouldn't be a free laguz today! I wouldn't even be alive! He doesn't belong anywhere else other than here!" The Tiger screamed himself hoarse.

Jerme looked at him as if he were crazy. Muarim looked down at the ground and shook his head.

"Jerme, I know what happened to your son. I know you hate beorc because or that, but..." Muarim looked up into Jerme´s eyes as if he was trying to see his soul deep in them.

"... Tormod...Tormod isn't like that. He's a good beorc and he's like...no, he IS my son...I can't imagine my life without him." Said Muarim.

Jerme was silent. A small sound made Muarim´s head turn.

"Is the beorc boy gone?"

"Did he run away?"

"That's stupid! Hardly anyone can survive in the desert and certainly not a beorc child!"

Everyone started to discuss this matter but Muarim didn't notice. He focused at the horizon. A ferocious sandstorm was coming.

* * *

Tormod´s PoV 

"Aww, no! It's a sandstorm!" Tormod looked at the sandstorm that was coming towards him.

_Great, now how am I going to do_? He knew that sandstorms where not to be taken lightly. Looking around, he tried to see if he could hide in his surroundings and with a well-trained eye he managed to spot a place not to far away. He started walking quite quickly towards it and took his blanket that where tied to his neck and warped it around his head so that only his eyes where visible. That way his face would be protected from sand and such. When Tormod reached the safe haven that was surrounded by rocks, he noticed the sandstorm was closing in.

"Ah, I see I've got company. What a pleasure." A voice said. Tormod startled and turned around to see who it was.

Standing to the left was an old man with a cloak that covered his face, much like the one Tormod had.

"Do you seek for a place to hide from the storm, my child? If yes, then welcome. If no, then you should." The man said humorously.

Tormod nodded and sat down next to a rock and pulled the blanket tighter around him. After quite a long while the sandstorm finally subsided. Both Tormod and the man got up and brushed the sand off them when Tormod dropped one of his tomes.

"Ack, I really must fix this belt..." Tormod mumbled aloud as he picked up the book and looked at his quite torn belt.

"Are you a mage, child?" The man asked. Tormod looked at him and nodded slowly.

"I thought so. Are you skilled?" The man said and looked at Tormod which, as Tormod now saw, emerald green eyes.

"Yes, I'm quite skilled. I won a battle just a few days ago." Tormod said not bothering to hide the proudness in his voice.

"Demonstrate your skills, child." The man said as he removed the hood from his head reveling his dark gray shoulder-length hair and goatee beard. Tormod nodded and casted Fire at a rock that turned red from the heat.

"Well? Not bad, eh? I'm a first class mage!" Tormod said, clearly proud of himself. The man looked slightly amused.

"Well…you know how to use your power." He said as Tormod jumped and cheered. Sighing the man continued, "But you lack respect for the magic and thus you lack the talent you need." He said watching as Tormod stopped jumping and pouted. Tormod couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"What? You sayin' I'm bad at magic?" Tormod shouted, not being able to hide that he was truly upset. The elder gave off a laugh.

"I did not say that you are a bad mage. However, I did not say that you were skilled either. My name is Leif. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Leif said and stretched out his arm in order to shake hands with Tormod. Tormod followed suit and shook.

"My name is Tormod. You wouldn't happen to know how I can improve my skills, do you." Tormod said thinking that he could gain some useful information here. Smiling, Leif pulled some tomes out of his satchel.

"You've probably seen these books before, right?" He asked.

Tormod nodded. It was a Wind tome, a Thunder tome and the one he was the most familiar with, a Fire tome.

"Now, if you've got some time to spare then I could teach you a thing or two about magic. Where are you headed?" Leif asked, smiling like a grandfather towards his grandchild.

"I'm going...away." Tormod said as if he wasn't completely sure about it.

"Anyways, I'd love to learn more magic! I really really want to become stronger!" Tormod said happily as Leif laughed at the young boy's enthusiasm.

"Okay then, watch me and observe every movement child!" Leif said and demonstrated a Wind spell.

* * *

Muarim´s PoV 

"The sandstorm's over, I need help to find Tormod!" Muarim yelled, he seemed to be desperate.

"I know you're worried Muarim, but its one beorc boy in a big desert. We haven't the chance nor time to find him." Eyaya said gently.

Muarim turned towards her and said, "Great, you said 'we'! Anyone else volunteer?" Eyaya rolled her eyes as Muarim looked around when three other laguz raised their hands.

"Alex, Mariska and Leo. Good." Muarim said and turned towards Jerme. It was clear that he didn't want to look for Tormod. Mark looked around and when he noticed that he would be alone with Jerme if he didn't come, he raised his hand as well.

"Okay, I'll go get my first aid kit." Leo said as he walked away.

"Someone should protect Leo; he can't fight as you know." Muarim said and Alex followed Leo. Muarim smiled for the first time since the morning.

"Right! Let's go! If anyone would doze off, think about something else or just not go looking for Tormod, you're in for it!" Muarim said before everyone ran off in different directions leaving Jerme all alone.

"...aw, what the hell..." Jerme groaned before taking air and joining the hunt.

* * *

Okay, that´s it. Ask me if you wonder anything. Please review, you might be able to give me some tips about how I´m supposed to write and such. And if you flame me, I don´t really kno what I´ll do. I think I´ll laugh, and then yell at you... 

Maidenmonster

* * *


	9. Friend or fiend

Moahahaha! I´m back! (silence) ... Anyone there?

Well, I´ve updated. I hope you like it... If you do, tell me! I only got one review from the last chapter, this is my first story. Tell me what I´m doing right, what I´m doing wrong, what I could do in order to improve etc...

This chapter features Stefan, one of the only pre-promotes I´ve been able to accept. I don´t know if he is OOC or not, this is how I think he is. Please tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: Would I be writing fanfictions if I owned it? Ummm, no.

Now, enjoy!

* * *

Tormod's PoV 

" Better, but not great." Leif said as Tormod finished off with a Thunder spell.

" Aww... But what am I doing wrong? I already know Fire and Wind and I'm doing them quite well. What makes Thunder harder to learn?" Tormod asked with a disappointed look on his face. Leif chuckled a bit at his student.

" Child, the path to ultimate power is long. You'll have to learn that every spell is different in some way. You're not casting Wind and Fire in the same way, are you?" The elder said, Tormod nodded in response.

_' He's right, Fire and Wind are different. It doesn't feel the same way to cast them...'_ Tormod said to himself as Leif smiled to him.

" You're a quick learner, child. I have to say that I'm impressed. Now, Wind is a weak spell. But it's easier for you to cast it, isn't it? And Fire is the strongest of all the three magic, light not included. But it's quite hard for you to use, am I right?" Leif said still smiling. Tormod thought about it for a while.

_' He's right again, Fire is the spell I'm more used to. But I still need to pause between the attacks, for some reason it takes a lot of more energy to use Fire than Wind...'_ His thought where interrupted as Leif spoke up again.

" Thunder is somewhere in between. But as you may have noticed, Fire and Wind takes a lot more time to cast than Thunder, watch me." His teacher said and released a Thunder spell towards the cliff, which shattered as the bolt made contact.

" Did you see? It was a lot faster than Fire, right?" Leif said and Tormod nodded. It was indeed faster. " Now, you try. Try to make it as quick as you can." Leif said and took a few steps back in order to give Tormod some space.

_' Okay, I have to get it right! Here goes!'_ Tormod told himself as he casted Thunder at the rock. " Thunder!" The lightning released itself from Tormod's palm and hit the stone just a second later. The cliff, however didn't suffer any damage at all.

" Huh?" Tormod pouted as he saw that the lightning left the rock unfazed. " What did I do wrong? Why didn't it..." He was interrupted by Leif's laughter.

" Hahaha. Oh, child. Haha. You can't expect to hurt a rock with your small force. You're so far not even classified as a mage. However, you are quite talented, but I doubt that you'll be able to shatter a big rock with a Thunder spell like that." Leif said with a know-it-all look on his face.

Tormod couldn't help but to feel disappointed. " Okay, what do I have to do in order to get better?" He asked. Leif looked down at him with his green eyes for a while._ ' His eyes... They look a lot like Muarim´s eyes. I hope he's okay. What if...'_ Tormod was interrupted again as Leif spoke up.

" What you need is a power seal. I've got one. Look." The elder said as he took of his glove and revealed a strange mark on his palm. Tormod just looked at it. He'd never seen anything like it before.

" What is it?" He said with a confused look at his face. Leif laughed again, and Tormod started to feel silly.

" With this, I gain power. Thanks to this seal, I've been able to slay even sub-humans--" Leif continued to speak, but Tormod stopped listening at the word 'sub-human'.

_' Say what! He... He killed laguz! And he's proud of it?'_ Tormod's mind was in uproar but for some reason he stayed calm on the outside. He just watched as Leif's mouth moved, but he didn't listen to the words thatwere coming out.

After a while Leif stopped talking, Tormod hadn't listened to asingle thing he said and Leif started preparing for bed. It was Tormod's first night without Muarim by his side since he and Muarim learned to know each other. He was anxious and uneasy, wondering if Muarim was okay, hoping he wasn´t angry.

'_ I hope that Muarim is safely at home...With the others. Those of his kind...'_ For the third time that day, Leif interrupted his thoughts.

" Child? Are you... crying?" The elder said and walked next to Tormod, who now realized that his cheeks were wet from tears. " Child. Why are you crying?" Leif said and stroked Tormod's cheek with his cloak to wipe the tears away. Much like Muarim always had done if Tormod cried. " Child... Tormod..." Leif said and pulled Tormod into his embrace as Tormod started shaking and sobbing.

_' Why..? Why am I crying? I... It's not like I need Muarim by my side all the time.'_ He thought for himself as Leif patted his head and hushed a bit in order to calm Tormod down.

After a while Tormod stopped sobbing, but tears where still flowing down his cheeks. Leif decided that it was best not to ask, since Tormod hadn't told him in the first place. Tormod walked over to where he was going to sleep and wrapped himself in his blanket, but as the night came and Leif was asleep, Tormod got up again, collected his things and said quietly:

" Forgive me Leif, but I can't stay with someone who thinks its okay to kill laguz."

And with that, he walked away. Leaving his teacher all alone.

* * *

Stefan's PoV 

A young man ran across the dunes. In the middle of the night. He was doing so at night because the cold air forced him to move to keep warm. His name is Stefan, and he was a myrmidon in training.

Another reason to why he was training during the night was that it reduced the chance of running into a sub-human. He hated, no detested them. 'Detest' sounds much better than 'hate'. And Stefan liked putting a bit of gloss on words.

He stopped running for a while and looked around, and then up in the sky. He had been living in the desert for a long enough time to be able to get a pretty good idea of where he was by looking at the environment, such as the stars, and be able to navigate by them.

" Let's see... That way!" He said to himself and ran in the direction he pointed out for himself, his light-green hair flew behind him in the breeze. He knew that there would be an oasis nearby, he was usually training in this area and where able to memorize how to find the oasis. But as he got there he saw something that didn't make him happy.

A man of average height where standing on a rock by the oasis. His black hair and clothes made him almost invisible against the dark sky, but Stefan had a well trained eye and could see him without much trouble, and he could see what the man had on his back. Something that made Stefan loathe him right away. Black wings.

" Sub-human..." Stefan didn't notice that he spoke out loud until he saw that the half-breed reacted at his words.

" You! Human!" The crow said and leaped up in the air and flew towards Stefan. After a short flight he landed quite close to the beorc, who lost his balance and fell.

" Okay, human. I'm looking for a human child, red hair and... What's that? On your forehead?" The bird said and pointed towards Stefan?s head. Said beorc panicked and quickly covered his forehead with his hair.

" I-I don't know what you're talking about! I don't have anything on my head!" He yelled, still covering his forehead. The crow just smirked and Stefan cursed under his breath.' Damn sub-human!'

" Well you got a fascinating hair color at least. I bet you that I could see it from the sky." Said the half-breed as he laughed to himself. Stefan sighed and in the same breath blew one of his bangs away from his face.

" Anyway, I'm looking for a red haired human child as I said and I'm not alone. My... Friends are also looking for him and we'd like to have some information. We need to find him before the grim reaper does. Have you seen him?" The sub-human said tilting his head a bit for some reason.

" No." Stefan said, quickly and honestly. He was beginning to get an uneasy feeling from the way the crow looked at him.

" Well, that's a shame. But I didn't expect less from a human like you... Parentless." The crow said with a blank stare. Stefan´s hand flew up to his forehead and he realized that his mark was revealed.

He scowled at the half-breed. _'"Parentless" they call me. "Branded" sounds better.'_ He eyed the laguz in front of him. Why did he have to suffer because of sub-humans like this one? And why wouldn't they accept him as their kin?

Child of beorc and laguz.

Branded.

Parentless.

" Well, if you can't help me you're totally useless. I mean, look at you, you're a human. You can't fight without weapons at all and--" He didn't have time to finish his sentence before Stefan in a matter of moments got up and held an iron sword to the crows neck.

" He-hey! What are you--"

" I don't like the word 'parentless'..." Stefan said calmly and smirked. He pushed the sword closer to the bird?s neck and watched as the half-breed panicked. Just for fun.

" Wh-where did the sword come from?" The crow asked with panic in its voice. Stefan pulled away his robe to reveal the belt where the sword had been sheathed. His eyes never once leaving the crow.

" You said something about a child, didn't you? What are you going to do? Kill him?" Stefan asked, not doubting that just may be what the sub-human will do. The crow, however, shock his head carefully in order to avoid getting cut by the sword. Stefan doubted that they really wasn't going the kill the child, who knew what those monsters might do. He was going to reply, but before he could someone spoke up not to far behind him.

" Jerme! Do you need help?"

Stefan took a few steps back so that he could see the newcomer, and he didn't like it. The newcomer was a laguz, a tiger it seemed to be as it was well built, unlike the cats, and it wasn't a bird. A tiger like that could be trouble.

_' Damn! If I have to fight that, then I doubt that I'll live to se the next sunrise!'_ He thought as he realized that tiger where among the strongest laguz and he was just a swordfighter.

" What is it Muarim?" The crow, who Stefan suspected was named Jerme,asked, all the panic seemed to disappear as the sword was removed. " Did you find him or something?" Jerme asked, but the tiger, 'Muarim' Stefan guessed, shocked his head.

" No. And it's really dark, and cold. I'm starting to get worried. What if he's harmed?" Muarim said, worry overflowing in his voice. This made Stefan quite confused.

_' What? A sub-human who is worried about a human child? A blood-thirsty beast who's worried about a child? A child of different species, none the less.'_ Stefan looked at the tiger and then at the crow.

" We must keep going, Jerme. I want to find him as soon as possible." Muarim said, looking at his feet. Stefan decided that this was a good chance to escape as both laguz focused at each other, he made a dash away from the two sub-humans and he heard them scream.

" Hey! Stop!"

" Let him go, Jerme. He'll only slow us down!"

Stefan smiled to himself, laguz may not be so bad after all. He decided to keep an eye open for the child for them.

_' Maybe... Maybe there are nicer laguz out there, willing to look for a small child in the middle of the night, in a desert none the less.'_ He looked behind him and slowed down when he saw that the laguz where gone. He smiled a bit.

_' I hope they'll find the child. And that he's unharmed. And that they don't hurt him.'_ He thought as a breeze blew and a very cold one at that. He shuddered and started running again. Praying to Ashera that the boy was unharmed.

* * *

Hmm, hmmm... Well? Now what? I know, review! Please do. I´d like to know what you think. If you wonder anything, don´t hesitate to ask. I´ll be glad to help. 

Bye bye.


	10. I found him!

Hello! I'm not dead, and I will continue to write this story!

I'm sorry for not posting this chapter sooner, but first I couldn't reach the internet during the summer and then I couldn't reach my beta-reader, so this chapter is un-betaed... How do you say that..?

Oh, and I did some editing of the first six chapters, just in case you're intrested. Nothing big, just less spelling errors and such. But grammar mistakes are probably still there unless they magically disapperd...

Disclaimer: No, Fire Emblem is not mine... Why do you ask?

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

Tormod' s PoV

Tormod woke up when a cold wind blew of his blanket. He had been resting for a while and fallen asleep after he was quite far away from Leif, just so that he would be able to regain a bit of energy. He quickly grabbed his blanket and decided to get up, He wanted to get away from the desert as soon as possible.

He was just about to go when images from his dream appeared in his mind, they where from a dream that had been haunting him for years. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples in a futile attempt to forget the dream. Pictures of a young couple, a sage and a cleric, and then fire. Fire everywhere. And then the house they lived in, drowning in flames. And a two year old boy standing outside, waiting for the couple to come out.

It was always the same…

Tormod shock his head, trying to get the nightmare out of his head when he felt a another gust, this time it was much stronger.

_'The wind is getting stronger. I should be going, this place won't be safe if I stay'_ The boy thought. He looked around, wondering where he should be going next. He didn't know where he was nor where he should be going to get out of the desert. After a while he started walking in a random direction, hoping that it wouldn't lead him further into the desert.

_'I wonder how much further I'll have to go? I don't have much food left, so that might become a serious problem soon…'_ He pondered and thought about anything eatable he might find in the desert. He knew that there where some animals at the edges of the desert that could be quite tasty.

Muarim used to catch them and Tormod would prepare a fire and…

_'Muarim…'_ Tormod's thoughts trailed of and he started to think about the emerald-haired tiger. Both pleasant and unpleasant thoughts. Such as when they met, when they found the ruins and started calling it 'home' and when both of them where fighting for their lives a few days ago.

_'We both got pretty torn up that time. I wonder if he is okay? My wounds still hurts, what if he would do something that would make them reopen? I'm sure Leo's with him but…'_ Tormod hardly noticed the tears that where rolling down his cheeks when he thought about the tiger who had been like a father to him.

_'Muarim, wherever you are… please. Make sure that you're okay.'  
_

* * *

Muarim's PoV

Muarim sighted. No luck so far. He stood still for a moment and listened. He didn't hear anything. He and the other laguz had decided that they would let out a roar, or a shriek, if they found Tormod. So far he hadn't heard anything, and that made him worried.

Muarim figured that Tormod could be near the edges of the desert by now and that didn't ease his mind at all. Those places where popular headquarters for bandits. He wanted to search for Tormod there, but his wounds where still not completely healed and he really should be avoiding any fights for now.  
And bandits wouldn't give a laguz any mercy, not at all.

Muarim continued to search after a few moments of rest. He wouldn't let his only family member disappear from his life. He would find him before it was to late.

* * *

Stefan's PoV 

Stefan exhaled and sat down. It was still in the middle of the night and he was far from done with his training. He just needed a little rest. He took a deep breath and considered the events of the evening. He met a nice laguz. He wouldn't believe it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. He looked around and enjoyed the silence.

Wait, it wasn't compleatly silent after all.

" Yer think we're lost?"

" Aye, me think we're lost"

Stefan gasped and looked towards the source of the sound. Five bandits that seemed to be busy with something else, fortunately they hadn't noticed him yet.

_' I'd rather not fight right now. I'd better go before they find me' _The green-haired swordfighter thought and started sneaking in the opposite direction.

" Hey! Who's that?" One of the bandits said. Stefan froze.

_' Did they see me?'_ He wondered, a bit worried.

" It looks like a boy" A another bandit said.

_' Boy? I'm not a boy! I'm a man!'_ Stefan thought, a bit upset.

"Oi, he dropped something."

Stefan looked around to see if he dropped anything.

_' No, I didn't. Are they… are they talking about someone else?'_ Stefan turned around to see if they where looking at him or not and noticed that they wasn't even looking in his direction.

" Is that a magic book?"

"Argh! Me don't like magic, makes me head hurt."

" But they could be sold for some gold, right?"

" Yeah, let's see if the kid got something else of value with him."

Stefan looked at the bandits as they started to walk towards their victim. He looked a bit closer and saw a young boy with red hair who hadn't noticed the bandits yet.

_'That must be the child! I can not let them hurt him, but… I'm outnumbered. What should I do?'_ He thought, trying to come up with something as the bandits came closer to the child.

* * *

Tormod's PoV

Tormod picked up his tome and brushed of the sand.

_'I really can't afford to lose this. I'll probably need it if I hope to survive.'_ The beorc thought before he put it back in the pocket that where attached to his belt when he saw something in the corner of his eye. He turned around and saw five bandits coming towards him with greedy looks in their eyes.

_'Bandits! Why now? Why here?'_ He thought and did the first thing that came to his mind, he ran away hoping that they wouldn't catch up with him.

* * *

Jerme's PoV

Jerme was getting tired of his view. It was the same where ever he flew.

_'Sand, sand, sand, something green, sand...Wait, something green?'_ He couldn't see it very well but the green object made him curious and he decended towards it. Then he noticed what, or who, it was.

" Hey, it's the green-haired myrmidon. What are you doing here, parentless?" He asked as he landed next to the branded swordfighter.

" It's branded, not parenless." The beorc muttered under his breath. " But that's not important, did you say that you where looking for a crimson-haired boy?" The man asked and recived a nod from Jerme.

" Well, a child is being attacked by bandits over there." The man said and pointed towards the darkness. Jerme's night vision where poor, but he could see some silhouettes moving in the darkness.

"Fire!" Jerme heard a familiar voice and then the darkness was lit up by a Fire spell and for just a moment he could see that it was indeed Tormod that where attacked.

"Tormod!" Jerme yelled and flew towards him when he heard one of the bandits say something and then he felt something fly a few inches over his head. He looked at the bandit that where standing closest to him and wondered what he just had done when he felt a sharp pain in his left side.

_' What the... He must have thrown a hand axe'_ The crow thought when said axe fell to the ground next to him. _'Dammit, if I only had been paying more attention...'  
_  
"Fire!" Moments after the boy cried out a fire orb hit the bandit that attacked Jerme and the ruffian cried out in pain.

"I won't let you hurt Jerme! I won't let you hurt any laguz!" Tormod screamed and prepared himself for a new attack as two of the bandits now focused on him instead of Jerme.

The other three charged towards the bird-laguz, axes held high as Jerme transformed into a gigant bird and ascended into the air and shrieked as loud as he could in order to inform the others about his and Tormod's whereabouts.

Jerme was just about to attack the bandits when one of them screamed in pain and clutched his side where the sword that cut him hit, behind him the myrmidon prepared himself for a another attack and smiled towards Jerme.

_'He's fighting... with me? Great! That evens out the odds!'_ Jerme thought with a slight smile and shrieked again before attacking the bandits.

* * *

Well, I don't know if the end was good but I was kinda confused when I wrote it, don't kill me. Give me advice on how to make it better. I know that my english still needs to improve, I'm working on it. Don't kill me for how the bandits talk, I know that they sound like pirates (pirates in the desert XD), but I blame my lack of knowleadge...

Tell me what you think please!

MaidenMonster


	11. I don't belong with you!

I'm sorry for the delay, I guess I do have a life after all... Anyway, in the last chapter a reviewer told me that the PoV things are unnessesary, I will use them in this chapter and YOU will tell me if I should keep them or not, I will do whatever my readers want. After all, I'm trying to make this nice to read and only the ones who read it can help me with that.

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.

Enjoy!

* * *

Muarim's PoV

Muarim ran as fast as he could. Jerme´s shriek was unmistakable, he had found Tormod! He squinted his eyes trying to see if there really was something moving ahead of him and after a while he saw it clearly.

Jerme was fighting some bandits, about five of them Muarim thought, together with Eyaya, Mariska and a beorc, the one Muarim and Jerme met earlier.

Tormod was there as well.

The red haired mage was fighting a strong axe fighter that just seemed to play with the boy, like a lion playing with it's pray before killing it. The bandit lunged at Tormod, who could barely avoid the attack and a shallow wound was inflicted on his leg. In response, Muarim roared in anger.

_'Nobody hurts my boy like that!'_ he thought as he pounced at the bandit, aiming for his axe-arm. The axe-wielder screamed in pain when the over-sized tiger hit his arm, but as Muarim prepared for another attack a sharp pain sprung from his hip, where his old wound from he other battle had been. It reopened and started to bleed badly. Muarim gasped and didn't notice the bandit's next attack until it was too late. As another wave of pain came over his leg and hip his vision blurred and he lost consciousness.

* * *

Stefan's PoV

Stefan slayed the second bandit that had attacked him and looked around to see his next victim, Stefan had killed two of them, Mariska and Eyaya had helped each other and killed one of them and Jerme had killed one, leaving only one left. Stefan first thought that everything would be fine when he saw Muarim´s body covered in blood, completely still.

_'What? How did..? Could it be..?'_ Stefan looked closer at the bandit that where coming closer to the defenseless child, who didn't seem to make any attempt to run. The others might have been brigands, but this one was a berserker! No wonder the laguz couldn't win, this guy was an experienced fighter. As the bandit rose his arm to chop the child in two Stefan saw an opening, quicker than he could think he lunged at the berserker.

* * *

Tormod's PoV

Everything happened so fast. First Muarim was defeated, and then the bandit was swinging his axe towards him… Then the axe fell to the ground, just a few inches away from Tormod, and blood where falling to the ground, mixing with the sand, staining it a deep crimson.

Tormod could barely make out the movement of the green-haired swordfighter as the man cut a deep wound in the bandits arm and then quickly trusted his sword into the bandit's stomach and with that the fight was over.

"…Tormod…" A weak voice called his name and he looked up to see who it was. He smiled when he saw the owner of the voice.

* * *

Muarim´s PoV

Muarim blinked a few times as he regained his consciousness and after a while he could see quite clearly, but he was still dizzy from the blood loss. When he remembered what happened he tried to scream Tormod's name, but his voice came out as a soft whisper, even if it was weak Tormod still heard him.

"Muarim! You're okay!" the small boy screamed and ran towards the laguz, almost tripping over when he became aware of the pain in his leg, and knelt down to hug the laguz.

" M-Muarim, I th-thought you were dead! You didn't move o-or do anything! This i-is the se-second time in j-just a few days that you scared m-me like that!" Tormod screamed as he hugged the tiger even harder, Muarim couldn't help but to smile and return the embrace.

"I'm sorry I scared you, little one. But you scared me as well, I was really worried… You just ran away, you could have died…" Muarim tried to hold back his sobs as they held each other in silence, Leo sat down next to them and started to take care of Muarim´s leg. Then Jerme decided to break the silence.

"Hey, we should get home now right? Everyone's here…" he said gesturing towards the others, "…and we're all tired and some of us are wounded, why stay here?" Muarim looked around at the other laguz and smiled.

"Yeah, we should, but…where did that beorc go? The one who saved Tormod? I wanted to thank him…" Muarim replied.

Jerme looked around at the others silently asking if they knew and then back at Muarim.

"I dunno, I think he just left when he didn't think we needed him anymore."

"Why? Did he just help us to get a chance to fight or what?" Muarim asked his crow friend. Jerme shrugged.

"Really, I don't think he wanted to help us, he wanted his own kind to be safe. He did it for Tormod. After all, he has reasons not to like laguz…" Jerme said the last part silently, not really wanting to tell the others that a parentless had saved their friend.

"Anyway, as I said. We really should go home now." Muarim nodded and with some help from his tiger friends he managed to get up, only listening to Leo's words of advice with half an ear, when Tormod started to squirm out of his grip.

"Little one, what are you--?"

"Muarim, let me go!" Tormod screamed.

"What? What do you--?"

"I don't belong with you! Jerme was right! I belong with other humans!" Muarim flinched at the 'H-word' and looked accusingly at Jerme who looked away, refusing to meet his friends gaze.

"No! Tormod, listen to me! You don't belong with beorc anymore. You belong with us, you… you are my only family now. You are my son…" This made Tormod stop squirming and he relaxed in Muarim´s arms, but he didn't stop sobbing.

"B-but… I'm not like you Muarim. I'm a human and you're a laguz…" Muarim sighed and stroked Tormod's head.

"Don't call yourself a human. You are a beorc…and a proud and honorable beorc at that. Don't insult yourself like that, ok?"

"B-but…"

"Please little one. Let's go home. Let's go to the home where you belong…" Muarim gently patted his child's head and hugged him close. Silence followed until Tormod spoke up.

"Is everyone okay with that?" he asked softly looking into Muarim´s eyes. Before Muarim could answer Jerme spoke up.

* * *

... Cliffhanger..? Well, maybe not. But I had to stop there. I think my updates will be quite irregular (is that the right word?) so be sure to check back now and then.

Untill then, ta!

Maidenmonster


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